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Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association

CONSTITUTION, BYLAWS, & CLAUSES

2013

This constitution, with its bylaws and clauses, approved by the membership in January 2011 and approved as an affiliation of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) by the Board of Directors of NESTA on 30 March 2011, has become necessary in order to permit the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association to become incorporated under Pennsylvania law, and to comply with federal regulations established by the Internal Revenue Service in becoming a tax-exempt, non-profit organization.

CONSTITUTION

Article I – Name

The corporate name of the organization shall be the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association, Inc., hereafter referred to as PAESTA. PAESTA may continue to be known as the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association.

Article II – Purpose

The purpose of PAESTA shall be the promotion, improvement and coordination of Earth and Space Science education at all education levels in the state of Pennsylvania.

Article III – Membership

Section 1: Membership in PAESTA shall be available to any person actively engaged in Earth and Space Science education and to those with an interest in Earth and Space Science education

Section 2: Annual dues for membership shall be payable at a rate determined by the Executive Committee at its annual meeting. The membership year shall run from July 1 to June 30.

Section 3: For the purposes of PAESTA, a member in good standing shall refer to members whose dues are current and whose conduct as a member is coincident with the aims, goals, and vision of PAESTA.

Article IV – Officers

Section 1: The elected officers of PAESTA shall be President, President-Elect, Past President, and Secretary-Treasurer. The appointed officers of PAESTA shall include liaisons, chairpersons, and coordinators as appointed by the President and approved by the Executive Committee.

Section 2: The President shall preside at the annual business meeting, and shall present an annual report thereto. The President shall serve a term of one year after serving a one-year term as President-Elect and shall be chairperson of the Executive Committee.

In the event the President is unable to perform the duties of the office, the President-Elect shall act in his/her behalf until the annual meeting at which time he/she shall assume the position of President.

Section 3: The Past President shall serve as chairperson of the nominating committee, shall organize the annual election to choose the next President-Elect and Secretary-Treasurer, shall act in an advisory capacity to the President, and shall assume other responsibilities as assigned by the President.

Section 4: The President-Elect shall chair the Teaching Resources Committee and shall have the responsibility of organizing and curating PAESTA’s collection of teaching resources. The President-Elect shall be elected for a term of one year by a majority of the membership. The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President as per Article IV., Section 2, Paragraph 2. The President-Elect succeeds to the Presidency at the annual business meeting of the Executive Committee. In the event that the President-Elect is unable to perform his/her duties, a new President-Elect will be elected within 3 months in a special election, according to the bylaws of PAESTA.

Section 5: The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of PAESTA and its Executive Committee, shall be responsible for correspondence of PAESTA, shall serve as custodian of PAESTA funds and make payment of all debts of PAESTA as are approved by the Executive Committee, and shall keep accurate records of all financial transactions of PAESTA and shall report same as requested by the President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for a term of one year by a majority of the membership. He/She shall have the option of standing for re-election. In the event the Secretary-Treasurer is unable to perform his/her duties, the President, upon arrival of the majority of the Executive Committee, shall appoint an acting Secretary-Treasurer who shall serve until a new Secretary-Treasurer can be elected at the annual business meeting.

Section 6: The President shall appoint chairpersons, liaisons, and coordinators with approval of the Executive Committee. These chairperson/liaison/coordinator positions shall be assigned to individual members-at-large. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for establishing committees which are determined to be necessary for the efficient running of the organization. The President shall appoint the chairpersons of these committees with the majority approval of the Executive Committee.

Section 7: The Executive Committee shall consist of the President, the Past-President, the President-Elect, the Secretary-Treasurer, and the Website Coordinator. The Executive Committee shall conduct such business as is directed by the membership at the annual business meeting. It shall also function so as to provide continuity in the affairs of PAESTA between annual meetings. A simply majority of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum in the transaction of business.

Article V – Meetings

PAESTA shall hold an annual business meeting within any 12 month period at a location determined by the Executive Committee or through online conferencing. Other meetings and activities may also be held as deemed desirable by the Executive Committee.

Article VI – Amendments

Amends to this Constitution may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by a request signed by 10 members of the Association. A proposed amendment must be brought to the notice of each member at least two weeks prior to the annual election at which time voting on the amendment will take place. Amendments shall become effective on approval of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the voting members during the annual election.

Article VII – Bylaws

Bylaws and Amendments to Bylaws to this Constitution may be initiated by the Executive Committee, or by written request signed by 10 members of the Association. The Executive Committee will be responsible for making ballots available for the proposed change. Bylaws and Amendments to Bylaws shall become effective upon approval by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of members voting during the annual election, provided a period of at least four (4) weeks elapse between the availability of ballots and counting the ballot vote.

BYLAWS

Bylaw I – Finance

Section 1: The Fiscal year of PAESTA shall extend from September 1 to August 31.

Section 2: PAESTA shall derive additional income necessary for conducting Association business from registration fees at meetings, the sale of miscellaneous publications and retail items, special event registrations, from the rental of tables at meetings for the purposes of displaying educational materials, and donations.

Bylaw II – Committees

The Teaching Resources Committee will be chaired by the President-Elect as per Article IV., Section 4. In the absence of any additional Standing Committees of PAESTA, ad hoc committees as needed for specific purposes may be appointed by the President with the majority approval of the Executive Committee.

Bylaw III – Elections

Section 1: A nominating committee consisting of two (2) persons appointed by the President and the Past President, who shall serve as Chairperson, shall make available by electronic means, an announcement of forthcoming elections to all members and solicit nominations for all officers. At least four (4) weeks must elapse between this distribution and the deadline for nominations.

Section 2: The nominating committee shall prepare a ballot and make it available by electronic means, to each member of the Association at least four (4) weeks preceding the annual business meeting. Ballots shall be received by the Chairperson of the committee until midnight of the day preceding the meeting, and he/she shall, at the meeting, declare elected those nominees who have received a plurality of the votes cast.

Section 3: In the event of a need for a Special Election, the same procedure shall be followed except that the election need not occur during the four weeks prior to the annual business meeting.

CLAUSES

Enabling ClauseThis Constitution and Bylaws shall become effective upon affirmative vote of the membership of PAESTA.

Non-inurement ClauseNo part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to, its members, officers, or other private persons, except when PAESTA shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payment and distributions in furtherance of its purposes.

Legislative ClauseNo substantial part of the activities of PAESTA shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation and the organization shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office.

Dissolution ClauseIn the event of dissolution, all assets, real and personal, shall be distributed to such organizations as are qualified as tax exempt under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding provisions of a future United States Internal Revenue Code.

30 March 2011 Original constitution approved by NESTA Board of Directors